1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a new arrangement for mounting and securing working units such as sowing or planting machines, wherein each working unit has at least one portion to be removably secured to a carrier beam of a frame of the machine and, more particularly, the invention relates to a new beam and coupling means for mounting the sowing or planting units in a planting machine whereby the units may be moved from one position to another position, whereby a spacing distance between said units may be quickly and simply changed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As it is well known in the agricultural field, when using sower or planting machines comprising a plurality of sower or planting units, the distance between the units may need to be changed in order to better make use of the ground according to the type of products to be cultivated, the size of seeds to be planted, etc. With the advance of research related to plowing techniques, several parameters have been adjusted in order to attain a better use of the ground area to be cultivated and a higher productivity of the soil. Among these parameters, the distance between the sowing furrows have to be changed into a wide range of metric values, this attaining a substantial increase in the yield of cultivated soils.
Generally, in conventional sower or planting machines, the sowing bodies or units are mounted in a cross bar or beam of a frame of the machine by means of clamps that are tightly secured to said beam by means of bolts or screws. Consequently, every time that is necessary to vary the distance between furrows, and therefore between sowing or planting units, the clamps have to be released by untightening the bolts in order to thereafter move each working unit up to the desired position relative to adjacent units. This operation requires the participation of two or more workers in order to keep the clamp positioned in such a way to prevent the same from blocking the movement of the planting or sowing units. Even so, the operation is troublesome and takes a considerable time until the planting units are suitably located and spaced apart to each other by the desired distance.
Seeking for a solution to the above drawbacks, some agriculture machines have been developed embodying various mechanisms that allow to change the distance between the working units, for example a well known machine including a plow for plowing multiple furrows that allows continuous adjustment of plowshare mountings between a maximum and a minimum desired distances between furrows. However, this known machine makes use of a complex mechanism by means of which changing of the distance between furrows is determined by changing the angle or slope relative to a rectangular tube in which the working units are coupled relative to the direction of traveling of the plow. Said plowshare mountings also have to be rotated at the same time relative to the rotation axis on said tube and depending of the tube inclination. Although this arrangement would solve, at least partially, the disclosed problem, it is of such a complexity that, besides involving a substantially high cost, makes this machine extremely heavy and requires intensive maintenance work. Furthermore, when simultaneously moving all the above working units to change the distance between said units this distance modification is constant for all the units thus preventing from obtaining other combinations that might be necessary in the practice.